The Game
by FallingMirrors
Summary: [With over 66 million results for the word "ghost" alone, the internet remains a wonderland for horror junkies. It was with thanks to the internet, however, that Ciel became rather more... involved with the culture of horror the internet had to offer than he would have liked.] AU. Ciel plays a game with the devil and loses. Brief Sebastian/Ciel. Warning for gore/blasphemy/horror


**Author's Note: **Well, things have been hectic recently. I'm starting university soon and fresher's week is the monday after next, not to mention I'm in the middle of moving out of my parents' house and into my own flat (which I'm renting with my best friend) so... well, that alone is just a whole pile of stress. Weirdly enough, I always seem to want to write more when I'm busy and/or stressed because I find it takes my mind off things, which brings us to where we are now. A little while ago, I read a creepypasta by the name of 'The Devil Game' by user InfernalNightmare333, which is what inspired this fic. I encourage you to read it, though I'm pretty sure I explained the game in a comprehensible way if you'd rather not (I also used a bit of a simplified version.) Basically I was curious to explore the idea of what would happen if Ciel played the game and summoned Sebastian in that way. I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kuroshitsuji, nor do I own the original creepypasta, The Devil Game.

**Warnings: **Terrible black comedy, swearing, blasphemy, themes of horror and a game you should never, ever attempt (because it's not real.) Referenced Alois/Ciel, though that's not the main focus of the story, very twisted Sebastian/Ciel, gore, violence, unsettling imagery, a bit of non-con, torture, and insinuated non-graphic non-con IF you choose to read it that way. I think that's everything but I easily could have left something out by accident.

_The Game_

Almost every child grows up being fed on myths and urban legends. Be it the boogeyman, chupacabra, or simply the looming threat of restless and malevolent spirits, there is often enough nightmare fuel during those later, more mischievous years of childhood to satisfy of Stephen King wannabes. In this respect, Ciel Phantomhive was no different to any other child of his age and typical curious nature. Like many of us, in his preteen years Ciel got a kick out of the typical childish fright fest - exchanging scary stories around a campfire with his friends, delighting in the miniature urban legends that would float around his primary school, and searching creepy stories on the internet as soon as his parents granted him regular access to the standard, boxy family computer (not that they knew that he used this time to feed his gruesome curiosity in the occult rather than researching for homework assignments.) As far as things went, Ciel was a typical little boy - the kind with a natural urge to touch disgusting things, simply for the thrill of announcing, "Ew, gross," afterwards.

At the age of eleven, when he transferred to secondary school and met rather more long lasting friends, his horror tastes matured along with him. This involved scary movie marathons at each other's houses and the exchange of scary stories more often than not found on the internet. In fact, as the internet continued to expand and develop, the range of rituals, legends, and supposed unexplained mysteries grew as well. With over 66 million results for the word "ghost" alone, the internet remains a wonderland for horror junkies. It was with thanks to the internet, however, that Ciel became rather more... involved with the culture of horror the internet had to offer than he would have liked.

The thing about these fantastical beasts of myth and legend is that they are supposed to, for the most part, remain in childhood nightmares. As we age, we "grow out" of the familiar fear of the dark and of monsters hiding under the bed. The curious thing, however, is that as human beings we share a fear of certain traits - things like sharp teeth and red eyes and anything that looks like it can cause disease are particularly ominous - but even as adults, we are likely all familiar with a certain feeling of dread that can often be inspired for to reason at all - the feeling of eyes watching us from somewhere unknown, the hairs standing up on the backs of our necks. More often than not, we are able to reason the fear away, tell ourselves that we're being silly, that its just our imaginations. It is then that we are most vulnerable, when we do not _want _to believe.

:: ::

At seventeen years of age, having just begun his last year of secondary school with the anticipation of A Levels and the struggle to secure a place in university just ahead of him, Ciel Phantomhive was not feeling particularly optimistic regarding the year to come. It was September and the final dregs of summer did not do much to alleviate his mood. There was time enough for perhaps a couple of final outdoor activities such as picnics or barbecues before autumn set in with full force. Living just on the cusp of London the weather was, in fact, generally better than the rest of the UK, but when push came to shove, Ciel found himself more often than not despairing at the weather along with the rest of the British population.

Ciel was neither a large nor particularly healthy boy. Bout after bout of childhood illness had left him suffering from a weak chest and a particularly nasty case of asthma which forced him not only to carry an inhaler with him, but to sit out on most school sporting events, something which inevitably alienated him from his male peers. Sitting at the side of the pitch completing homework during every physical education session came as both a blessing and a curse - while it distanced him from the other boys in his year, it was the factor which caused him to meet one of his few friends, Alois Trancy, a boy who was both a blessing and a curse in himself. Alois' ice blue eyes glimmered with determination and his impish spirit and his petal soft lower lip had a way of sticking out petulantly when arguing - this was something Ciel noticed from the first time he saw Alois fighting to be allowed to sit out of the class, claiming to have forgotten his kit and refusing to participate in his uniform. Although Ciel more often than not found the other boy to be rather distasteful, the two became fast friends nevertheless. Ciel wasn't exactly in a position to be picky, and Alois proved himself to be loyal and... well, never boring at least, as was proved in their six year long friendship.

It was with Alois that Ciel continued to feed his hunger for the supernatural and unsettling. This began not long after their acquaintanceship was formed with a simple, "Hey, you'll never guess what I saw on the internet last night," from Alois. From then, Ciel knew who to refer to regarding all things creepy. They bonded over the stories they found, from old news articles to the sorts of "games" that have the potential to get you killed. While they read the rules and discussed the possible outcomes of such games and rituals, both denied themselves the possibility to sate their curiosity, commenting that "you would have to be insane to actually do something like that."

By the time he reached seventeen years old, Ciel thought that he had left that world of childish, morbid curiosity behind him. He would be moving on to the next chapter in his life soon, more than likely moving out into a place of his own and establishing his own life as an adult. While the articles were still fun to scoff over and his taste for horror films remained finely tuned, he had never expected to actually believe any of the legends he read about. What's more, he had never thought that even Alois would be stupid enough to look for meaning in any of them. Of course, he was wrong. This was proved by the screen of Alois' phone being shoved unceremoniously in his face during a free period in their newly claimed upper sixth study.

"Alois, get-"

The rest of his protest was swallowed by the overly excited feminine voice following the weight of a schoolbag being dropped on the seat next to him. "_Look _at this, Ciel. I know we've seen a lot of these things, but I really think this might be one of the best ones yet."

"Get your phone out of my face, you know I can't see anything when you hold it up so close," the boy grumbled, grasping the spindly wrist of his friend and forcing it back before the blond had enough time to do it himself. Printed across a black background in garish red letters were the words 'The Devil Game.' Ciel was less than impressed, having been interrupted from his studying by something that looked like it had been created by some twelve-year-old self-proclaimed goth on the internet. "What the hell is that supposed to be?"

Alois was clearly put out by his friend's lack of enthusiasm, but settled himself down in the seat next to him nonetheless. "Look, I know it doesn't look like much but I think it has potential."

Ciel snatched the phone away from his friend, scrolling briskly through the article. A list of required equipment, step-by-step instructions, tips, cautions, and a huge warning at the bottom against attempting the ritual at all - the usual, basically. "What's so special about this? It looks like every other stupid game out there - invite something sinister into your life and try not to get killed." He tossed the phone back at the blond who, as luck would have it, managed to catch it. Alois rolled his eyes.

"That, my short friend, is where you are wrong." Ignoring the huff from his friend, he continued. "The aim of this game is to talk to the devil - the big man himself, none of this Santa's little helper shit."

Ciel raised a brow. "What a load of rubbish. You really think some stupid ritual on the _internet _is going to summon the devil? Besides, don't you think he has something more important to do than pop up here to have a chat with a bunch of idiotic teenagers? Who in their right mind would even _want _to talk to the devil? From what I've heard, he's not the nicest of people."

"But that's just _it,_" Alois' face split into a grin, "Don't you want to know if he's really as bad as everyone says? I mean, maybe he's not bad at all." (He was interrupted by this point by Ciel's, "I'm pretty sure he _is _bad, actually," but paid it no heed.) "And anyway, it says here that you can ask him anything you want. It's a quid pro quo sort of thing - you ask him things, he asks you things. If you get his questions right, he has to tell you the truth about what you want to know. If you get them wrong, he's free to lie to you - that's the only downside-"

"The _only _downside?"

"-He doesn't even have to show up! He'll only come if you're determined enough to summon him." The blond could see he was getting nowhere with his friend and decided to try a different approach. "Come _onnnnn, _Ciel. It's our last year in school and we've read about these things since we were kids. Don't you want to try to _really _do something scary? I thought it would be fun. After all, you're off to fuck knows where next year-"

"Ireland. It's hardly the other side of the world."

"It might as well be! And I didn't take you to be such a pussy anyway."

"I am not! I'm just not an idiot. Besides, those things are fake anyway. It'll never work," he turned back to his homework, mind set on returning to the considerably more important task at hand.

"Exactly! It won't, so what's the harm in trying? Come on, it'll be a laugh. It's just a bit of fun."

Ciel's hand hesitated over the paper, pen in hand, but he knew that as soon as he actually paused to consider the ridiculous scheme, he was as good as involved anyway. He gave a deep sigh, before finally relenting and dropped the pen on the desk. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Yes!" The smaller boy was engulfed in a hug. "Oh, Ciel, I knew you would, I knew I could count on you. Ok, so the first thing we have to do is break into a church at midnight."

"Oh, _piss off._"

:: ::

Against his better judgement, Ciel found himself to be standing outside the nearest church with just fifteen minutes to go until midnight. As luck would have it, Alois' uncle was a minister and Alois just so happened to know where the spare key to the church was hidden, under small pot outside the building itself. As the side door swung open (they had decided it was best to be as inconspicuous as possible. The old building was dark and cold and, frankly, a surprisingly fitting place for performing some manner of creepy ritual.

"So... Where are we supposed to actually... do it?" Ciel put the question forward hesitantly, the carrier bag full of the supplies they needed feeling heavier than it should against his fingers whilst Alois struggled with a large mirror.

"Doesn't matter as long as it's in a holy building," the other boy responded, his strained voice betraying how heavy the mirror was. "I don't think I'll be able to heft this thing around much further, though. I'll just put it here." With considerable effort, he rested the mirror on the harsh stone floor against the wooden edge of one of the rows of pews. "There. The isle should be big enough to set up the candles. So... I'll just nip outside and wait until you're done, I suppose."

"_What?_" Ciel was at first dumbfounded, then outraged. "You want me to go first? I thought I was just supposed to be here for moral support!"

"Ciel, I thought you knew what the plan was," Alois responded blankly. "You go tonight, test the waters a bit, and then I'll go tomorrow when we know it's safe."

"Forget it, that was never part of the plan. I'm out, you can do the stupid thing yourself." The boy began making his way briskly to the exit, about to leave the whole idea of the game behind him once and for all before the blond cut in front of him, obscuring the exit.

"Wait, wait, wait!" The panic slipped away from Alois' face, leaving a controlled if sly mask in its absence. "You're here now, Ciel. Think of all the trouble we went through to get here and get set up. You might as well just do it, right? Or are you scared?"

The smaller boy glared at his companion. "I'm not scared of some stupid game you found on the internet."

"Prove it, then. Here are the matches," he tossed the box over, "To light the candles with. Clockwise, remember. And you have to do some sacrilegious act to get him to appear. And whatever you do, don't give him your full name. Or take your eyes off him, no matter what happens around you. See you in less than sixty-six minutes and six seconds. Good luck." With a wink, the blond slipped back outside, the door falling in place with a heavy thud behind him.

Even though he had read the article and knew what to avoid doing, Ciel couldn't help but feel he was terribly underprepared for the whole situation. Though he hoped he wouldn't need to be worried at all.

Fuck Alois. And fuck this game. And fuck _him_ for being too proud to walk away.

With a withering sigh, he reached inside the plastic carrier bag to fish out the numerous white candles, salt, and long red thread, sitting cross legged in front of the mirror, which was comfortably large enough to fit his whole reflection in it. Starting with the salt that they had brought, he drew a semicircle around the mirror with it, from one edge to the other. He began placing the candles around the mirror in a semicircle, and when that was finished he struck a match and set about lighting them. Supposedly this was for protection. Even though he didn't think he believed anything would actually materialise in front of him, he couldn't deny the uneasy feeling of the dark, empty church and the glow of the candles helped to ease that just a little. Reaching forward, he wrapped the red string around the mirror, though once again he had to admit a little unease at actually being so close to the mirror. He drew back quickly when the job was finished.

Now all that was left to do was to summon the buggar.

...However he was supposed to do that. The article had said that a sacrilegious act should be performed to encourage the devil's appearance, but he was at a loss.

"Ffffffuck," he muttered aloud to the empty church. "There. How's that? I swore in a church. Is that bad enough? Oh my God. Holy Hell. Shitting Christ." Still he found himself staring back at his own reflection. "Who knows? Maybe that'll have done it." He closed his eyes for the next step and began counting. Not taking into account the discomfort of sitting in a dark, cold church alone with his eyes closed, everything seemed to be rather normal... until around the 'seven' mark. At this, a deep dread swept through him. He felt almost as though someone might be leaning very close to his face. The rules stated, however, that he was supposed to count to ten before opening his eyes. He finished quickly "eightnineten," before snapping his eyes open, only to have his heart stop dead in his chest for a fraction of a second when he realised that the eyes staring back at him from the mirror were not his own.

Taking the initial shock of the fact the ritual had actually _worked _into account, the devil himself was not what Ciel had expected to see. No horns, no cloven hooves, nothing terribly horrifying at all, actually. It seemed that the devil had decided to take the more attractive approach, with his clear, pale skin, jet black hair and nicely tailored, if funereal, three piece suit. What _was _frightening, however, was the appearance of his eyes - they glimmered an unnatural bloody red, the contracted black pupil in the centre a stark contrast to the near jellied appearance of the iris itself. They locked purposefully onto the boy before them and Ciel, an icy disgust in his heart, only just managed to tear his gaze away when the intensity of them became too much, focusing instead on the devil's handsome face as a whole. The soft lips curved into a crescent moon smirk, the eyes still locked on him, and the devil spoke.

"What could a little one such as yourself possibly have summoned me for?"

Where Ciel had expected a deep, animalistic growl, there was only a smooth, deceptively soft voice in its place. Had it been anyone else he was talking to, Ciel would have protested that he was _not _little at all, that he was only a few months away from becoming an adult. As things were, the being in front of him had a way of making him feel very small, so he decided not to have a debate on the matter. He straightened his back, eyes locked onto the form in front of him lest it try to slip past him.

"I want to challenge you to a game of question and response," he answered, rather proud of how stable his voice sounded.

"Another one?" The devil actually sounded... rather disappointed. His eyes cast off to one side briefly, an additional set of birdlike, vertically-closing eyelids apparent as thin, grey membranes as they glanced over his eyeball. He gave a deep sigh, though a peculiar sort of... clicking noise could be heard from deep within his throat as he did so. It was then that Ciel realised that the mirror was completely clear - where there had been smudged fingerprints before from Alois' struggle to maneuver the heavy object into the church there no longer were any. In fact, it was as though no glass was present at all - as though the frame had become a portal holding no glass, but rather the devil himself. Ciel could see the reflection of the church behind him as clear as day, as though it wasn't a reflection, but rather a perfectly mirrored image of his surroundings within the small world of the frame. "You have no idea how many 'challengers' I face on a daily basis," the devil drawled, the red eyes snapping back in front of him to the boy. "It does get rather tiring. I'm sure you're a clever lad... You wouldn't prefer to establish a contract, perhaps? Or maybe you'd rather come through here with me... see what the other world is like." A pale, spidery hand reached up and, to Ciel's horror, tugged at the red string he had not long ago tied around the mirror. The devil only plucked the string gently between two fingertips, yet the action confirmed Ciel's suspicions that the two were no longer divided by a sheet of glass.

"No thank you," the boy responded, swallowing dryly. "Just the game, I think."

"Oh very well," the devil conceded, clearly exasperated. "Just the game it is," he gave a short wink, something which should have been familiar and charming, but instead looked terribly out of place. "I'll go first - tell me the genus and species of the grey wolf."

Taken aback, Ciel thanked the stars for the attention he had paid in GCSE Biology and recalled the fact with some trepidation. "Canis lupus." The devil smiled, though there was a harshness about his eyes that put the boy on edge. He did not respond to the answer, so Ciel simply assumed it was his turn. All of a sudden, he wasn't quite sure what to ask, so he simply put forward the first question that came to mind, the very one that he and Alois had been discussing not long ago. "Are you evil?"

"That depends on your point of view," the devil responded easily. "Many would think so, yes. What do you think?"

Ciel was aware that the rules had warned against allowing the being to send him off on a tangent, that chances were he would try to keep Ciel talking until he had exceeded his allowed time. "Yes, I think you probably are," he answered shortly. "Does Heaven exist?"

"It does if you want to believe that it does. How many journeys does the average American pilot make per year?"

Ciel's mind went blank. He hadn't a clue. "I don't know," he responded, though the devil still seemed to expect him to ask another question. That was pointless, though - if Ciel knew the devil was able to lie if he hadn't given a correct answer, then what was the point of asking him anything? So he decided to waste the question with something stupid, rather than putting any thought into it. "What's your favourite animal?"

The devil chuckled. "I'm rather fond of cats, as it happens." Ciel had a feeling he was telling the truth. Perfect. What a useless piece of trivia. "How high, in metres, is the tallest building in the world?"

Ciel found his hopes dimming quickly, as well as finding himself to be growing more and more frustrated with the situation. "Seven hundred thousand," he guessed. "How do you feel about God?" he tried, knowing that it would be easy enough for the creature to lie to him, seeing as the chances of his getting the previous question correct were slim indeed.

"I am indifferent. In what year was Charles Dickens' _Little Dorrit _firstpublished?" As soon as the devil finished speaking, an ear-splitting shriek sounded from outside, making Ciel jump considerably. He knew that it was Alois who had screamed... or at least someone using Alois' voice, he corrected himself. He caught himself as he was about to turn his head instinctively towards the source of the noise. The devil was here in front of him and therefore couldn't possibly do anything to Alois outside the building where the game was taking place. If Ciel took his eyes off him for just a moment, however, the devil would be in the room with him and then they would both be in trouble. Alois hadn't really screamed, he told himself, it was just a trick to try and distract him. He soldiered on.

"Eighteen sixty-four," Ciel tried. "Do you find joy in your role?"

"Sometimes. How many rattlesnakes exist in the world today?"

"Four... million..." Ciel responded, shuddering in discomfort as he felt a cold breath ghost down the back of his neck, though continuing to stare straight at the devil's image. "This is pointless," he muttered angrily. As though surprised, the cold breeze withdrew from his neck and the devil raised a brow. Ciel knew that as long as the game continued, he would only keep wasting time giving wrong answers and the devil would keep evading his questions with vague answers, half-truths, or out-and-out lies. He was about to rise to his knees in order to bow and thank the devil for accepting his request, thus ending the game. The devil, however, had other plans.

"Giving up so soon? Now, I really thought you were a _winner._" The smooth voice developed a mocking air, enticing Ciel to fight back and defend himself.

"It's a stupid game, there's no point in playing anymore. I'm not going to get anywhere, am I?" He glared at the devil, hardly daring to, yet driven by some fiery inner force, his damning pride rearing its head.

"It needn't be a game, you know. After all, you did _so well _in summoning me. You might as well take advantage of that - why play by someone else's rules? Why not simply sit and chat with me a while?" The devil raked seemingly blunt nails across the floor on the other side of the mirror, the resulting scratch sounding more like it had been caused by a set of talons as opposed to regular human fingernails.

The offer was tempting. The devil's voice alone was enough to make him want to stay with its silky cadence. However, Ciel wasn't an idiot and he recognised the devil's attempt to make him stay past the allowed time, likely trying to trap him. He had no idea how much time had passed already, be he couldn't have had more than half his allowed time remaining.

"You're a Phantomhive, aren't you?"

The devil's inquiry stopped him in his tracks. He had been sure not to introduce himself - after all, it was stated in the rules that by doing this, he would essentially give the devil power over him. He saw that he was balancing on a very fine, very dangerous line and thought that it would perhaps be best not to say anything at all.

"I'm sure you're wondering how I know of your family. Well, you're acquainted with my job - it gets tiresome. Every now and then, I'll watch the happenings of your world. I've had my eye on your family for years. What would you say if I told you that you were not the first of your clan I've had the pleasure of conversing with?" The devil chuckled. "You Phantomhives are no fools, that much is obvious - but you're rather curious folk, aren't you? Sneaking around at night, talking to things that are best left alone." Those gleaming red eyes bore into his own, seemingly pinning him in place. He felt a hysterical scream bubbling inside his throat, but managed to keep it pressed down within him. "I don't suppose you told your parents what you were planning to do tonight. Just imagine their surprise if they heard the neighbours complaining of disturbances inside the local church the very same night their son did not come home. Don't you think they might be a little _curious _as to whether or not those two occurrences might be connected? Curious enough, perhaps, to investigate the church themselves?"

As the devil put this question towards him, Ciel saw the door behind him, reflected in the mirror just behind the devil's shoulder, swing open, his mother standing with her eyes wide in terror at the sight of her only son conversing with the silver-tongued beast and the evidence of the obvious ritual which had taken place. She pressed her hands to her mouth and as she did so, Ciel heard a feminine gasp from the door behind him. He didn't know the consequences of an instance in which another not playing the game was to interrupt it, but he certainly didn't want to find out. He span around where he sat, prepared to shout at his mother to leave before anything untoward was to happen. However, when his eyes fell upon the door, he was met with the sight of... nothing.

The door remained steadfastly closed. His mother did not stand there, but rather the church looked completely ordinary with the exception of the light of the candles glancing against the stone walls and wooden benches. As he stared at the closed door in disbelief, the light of the candles suddenly disappeared.

The room was pitch black as his eyes struggled to adjust and he felt suddenly cold, sure that were he able to see his breath would be visible emerging in cloudy plumes from his mouth. A deep, primal terror gripped him as he lost his vision, aware that he not only had his back turned to the devil, but even if he was to turn around, he would not be able to see him. In fact, were he turn around he would likely be met with the sight of his own reflection. He felt a cold breath against the back of his neck, not daring to move a muscle to turn around and see what was causing it. A soft chuckle sounded, before he heard the footsteps echo around him, seemingly walking in a circle.

A sharp whistling caught his attention, and he turned just in time to see a large iron cross fall from the wall and hit the floor with a deafening clang, causing him to jump. The footsteps continued to echo around the church and he was unable to trace their exact whereabouts. They could be right next to him at one moment and then up at the alter in the next. He heard the creaking of wood followed by scratching noises, as though something was clawing at the wooden pews, and there was no doubt in his mind that were the lights to turn on, he would see the grisly marks imprinted into the benches.

"Oh dear." As his eyes struggled to adjust to the cloudy, greyish moonlight, he was just about able to make out the sight of a humanoid figure winding its way through the pews, approaching the top end of the church. "Oh dear, oh dear. You know, I really thought you would be harder to fool than that. You knew the rules - don't look away, no matter what happens around you," he quoted Alois' voice from earlier in an uncanny impression. The creature paused, its head turning to face Ciel in the dark, and the boy was able to make out the glint of those red, jellied eyes so similar to those of a dead fish - the only part of his image that the devil was unable to conceal. "As I see it now, you have a few options. Oh don't worry, I won't pounce on you right away - that would end the game far too quickly. The first option is that I kill you, take your soul, the authorities find whatever is left of your poor, mauled body tomorrow," the devil recited with an air of boredom, "And that _is _an option, mind you. It may sound like the most preferable when you hear the others - you would be surprised at the amount of people that actually choose that one, I'm sure. The second is that you give yourself to me for the remainder of the night. That means that until the sun comes up, you recognise me as your master. We'll play the games I want to play. If I want to use you as an instrument in some huge evil, that's what will happen. If I want to destroy _your _life and yours alone, I'll make that happen. If I simply want to keep you locked in this old church and terrify you until you lose your mind, then that's the game we'll play. Whatever I choose to do, we'll do it. Now, your third and final option is as follows - you may pass your debt to someone else. You do this by bringing the game to the attention of a loved one - and it must be a loved one; I'll know if you pass your debt to someone you're not entirely fond of," the devil warned with a wagging finger. "You tell a loved one about the game and you do whatever you need to in order to convince them to play. If they win, then your debt becomes nullified. If they lose, well, they'll find themselves in exactly the same situation as you are in now. Oh, and I should let you know," a venemous smirk entered the devil's voice, "Your friend Alois is ruled out of those you can choose from. His debt has already been... _passed on._"

Ciel's stomach sank as he realised just what the devil was implying.

"So there are your options - you can quit, you can take a dare, or you can pass. Your choice."

Ciel's mind ran at a thousand miles a minute. The way things stood, he had only one option. He didn't want to die, he wasn't ready, and not for the sake of this stupid game. The thought of his parents finding the scraps of his body the next day put a halt to any possibility that he would take the first option. As tempting as it was to pass his mistake to someone else, he knew he couldn't be held responsible for anything this terrible happening to his loved ones. He briefly pictured his beloved cousin Lizzie being trapped in the same situation that he currently faced, and knew he could not go through with passing his burden onto her. That really only left one option - to take a 'dare.' Although this opened a new, entirely horrifying can of worms as to what the devil would make him do, at least there was a chance that responsibility would fall mostly onto him.

"Fine, I'll take the second option. I'll do whatever you want me to," Ciel responded through gritted teeth, angry at himself for falling into the devil's trap, angry at the devil for tricking him, and angry and betrayed by Alois, his closest friend, who had walked him right into the pit of Hell.

"Excellent," the devil purred, walking down the aisle to where Ciel still remained on the floor in some twisted mockery of a wedding. The man came to a halt directly before him, though Ciel didn't feel that he had the strength in his legs to stand even if he wanted to. Instead, the devil hunkered down beside him and, at such close proximity, his mask-like face came into focus once more and Ciel was filled with a deep disgust crawling within his chest, an urge to get away from the creature at the sight of those wide, staring eyes. One cold, vice-like hand gripped his jaw, twisting his face up to maintain eye contact. A grin lined his mouth and he dropped to his knees in order to press his face against Ciel's neck, inhaling deeply. Ciel was forced to fight every instinct in his body telling him to scream or to pull away... or perhaps both.

"You know," the devil commented with a lazy exhale, "It just ripped your little friend apart to pass his debt on to you. He was really very sorry. Between you and me, I think he may have had a little crush on you." Before his mind was able to process what had been said, his hand had been snatched and was pressed against the find fabric of the devil's trousers between his legs and held tightly there. The man pulled away just a hair's breadth so that he could better whisper into Ciel's ear in a chilling impression of Alois' high, reedy voice. "Oh, _Ciel, _you're so good." Then followed a chuckle in that deep tone which suited him so much better. Ciel's jumper was tugged off, over his head, and the shirt underneath was ripped open, the buttons popping off as he went until it hung in a disheveled manner from his petite frame. "I wonder how jealous he would be to know that I've seen you like this," the devil drawled. "Of course, I don't imagine you'll tell him. You'll be so ashamed by the time the sun comes up that I don't imagine you'll tell _anyone._"

He was flipped suddenly, his legs taken out from underneath him as he was sent sprawling belly-down across the stone floor, his hands secured by just one of the devil's above his head whilst a set of deadly jaws latched onto his shoulder, digging deep into the flesh and the muscle and Ciel _swore _he heard the crunch of bone. He let out an agonised wail, sure he would either throw up or pass out. Some strange pull, however, forced his eyes open, forced him to stay present and experience the 'dare.'

An inhuman growl sounded from above him and he didn't turn his head, too terrified by the prospect of the beast that hovered above him to sneak a glance. The devil's free hand raked down his vulnerable back, leaving trails of hot, wet fire where they passed.

"Oh, don't give up on me now. We're just getting started." The silky voice, which should have been comforting, was just as frightening as the deep snarling, the curious clicking deep within the creature's throat, the clammy hand gripping his wrists. He was out of his depth but his mind was too warped by pain to register the fact. "We have all night to go yet, you know. This was your decision, Ciel. In fact-" A hand locked into his hair, pulling his face upwards to see his reflection in the mirror they had brought with them and there Ciel saw himself, his sticky blood pooling beside him on the smooth stone of the floor, his eyes wide and panicked, his chest heaving with effort and, most disturbingly of all, the pale man in the black suit crouched atop his back, his red eyes staring at the picture they made in the mirror. "Why don't you watch as you repay your debt to me?" The hand wrenched his head to the side so that the beast had access to his mouth, which was consequently plundered by a cold, grotesque tongue. "There now," the devil murmured as he pulled away, gaze returning to the mirror. "Squirm, little caterpillar." Sharp fingertips dug painfully into his side and he squirmed just as the devil ordered. "That look is terribly becoming on you," the man commented as a contented smile lined his face.

"You're doing this for Alois, remember," the man hissed. "Just think of how happy your little friend will be to know that you paid this great price for his life." He leaned closer so as to whisper in the deafening silence of the church. "Mind you stay awake."

:: ::

Ciel quickly lost track of time. He could have been lying on the stone of the floor for seconds or years, he could not be entirely sure. Just when he thought he would surely die, he felt the bite of the creature's teeth against some previously unmarred part of his body, forcing him to stay in the present.

Finally, _finally, _the soft, wet ripping noise of his flesh was interrupted by the devil's voice, which he didn't believe he had heard in some time.

"I think I'll give you a little parting gift."

He was flipped onto his back, his spine and battered flesh screaming in protest at the movement. The soft, pale mouth, lined in several rows of teeth, closed over his eye. Ciel had long ago lost the energy to scream, instead emitting a hoarse whine of terror at the prospect of anything happening that could have the potential to blind him. He did not feel teeth as he had expected, but instead a huge pressure directly on his eyeball as though the devil planned to suck the little globe right out of his skull. Just as he was sure he would part with his eye altogether, the devil drew back and smirked, admiring his handiwork. "My brand," he informed the boy simply, pressing a contrastingly gently kiss to his brow.

"It's time for me to say bye-bye, now," he announced, lifting himself off the boy and standing. "You paid your debt well enough," he continued casually, "I think I might call in on you again sometime when things are quiet," he tapped his shining shoe on the floor in a gesture, "_Downstairs, _as it were. It's always nice to make a new friend, don't you think?" He seemed to be oblivious to the condition of the panting boy on the floor, but Ciel knew better.

The devil strolled through the pews, his height suddenly decreasing as though he was traveling down a hidden set of stairs. He paused, waving to the boy in the murky morning sunlight, before his head disappeared behind the bench altogether and he was gone from sight.

With great effort, Ciel managed to haul himself up onto one elbow, taking in his bloodied and bruised appearance in the mirror, but what really caught his eye was just that - the little organ imbedded in his face was now a dull grey colour all over instead of the previous healthy white it had been, the cerulean iris no longer gleamed, but instead was cracked and dirty as though it was a piece of china which had been trampled. The eye itself looked as though it had been rotting away for a considerable amount of time, but what Ciel noticed most of all was the pentagram which now resided inside the wide orb. He blinked rapidly as though that would clear the webbed sign, but it would not shift. The mark of his debt was imbedded into his eye and Ciel could not help but think it was a sign of ownership, as well as foreshadowing. The devil had said he would be calling in on Ciel again, after all. Strangely, although his clothes were ripped and his blood remained pooled on the floor, he could not see the marks left by the devil. Although he could still feel the agony of his wounds, they were no longer visible to his eyes. All that remained of the devil's dare was the brand apparent on his eye.

Ciel lowered himself to the floor again, though his eyes remained attached to the mirror, sure that at any moment the devil's grinning face would appear before him again, that the shadows he saw behind him were moving, ready to strike rather than a simple figment of his imagination.

Even when Alois finally burst through the door of the church, face streaked with tears and mouth full of apologies, tugging at him, trying to urge him up, swearing at himself, swearing in shock at the state of his friend, Ciel did not quite want to look away. As Alois finally managed to tug him to his feet, supporting him, Ciel did not look away, though he wished he had.

Because as Alois began to lead him from the church, he spared one last look at his reflection, and his reflection returned to him a smirk and a sly, little wink.

:: ::

**Secondary AN: **Well, there you go. As always, I never use a beta reader, so I apologise for any typing errors I may have missed. I know it's a bit of a long read, but hopefully it was worth it. I was going to separate it into two halves, but all the action really happened in the second half so I decided to just finish it off and upload it as one very long one shot.

If you have any questions, then feel free to ask me in a PM or even if you have any oneshot prompts, feel free to send them because I'll be looking for things to keep me preoccupied when I'm in the process of moving.


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